So Im just about one week in and am taking a day break in Xi'an. The RX3 survived a pretty heavy rain storm around Wuhan unscathed while my iphone in its "waterproof" case didn't fare so well.

It turns out that The Sound didn't go away after replacing those missing bolts... I'm not really sure how i missed it before. It has gotten a bit worse. I'll have it checked out again tomorrow but for now I've just been listening to music. That seems to help.

I should summarize it again. Its a metal on metal rattling sound. Its NOT constant only happening in certain situations. It gets more intense when the engine is under greater pressure for example riding up hill or accelerating on the low end of a gear's range. It goes away when I reach a speed, any speed, and let off the throttle a bit or when I go above either 6000RMPs or about 80kmh. I think i would still be able to hear it so i'm pretty sure it does go away at that speed. It's hardly noticeable in 1st gear but gets progressively worse up to 3rd then I don't notice it once in 5th or 6th.

The dealer said he "replaced the engine." later I asked if he replaced the WHOLE engine including the gear box and he said yes which should rule out a problem in the gear box but, I don't know, he could have been lying. The sound existed both before and after the engine replacement.